


Fools' Sanctuary

by Scarlet_Was_Here



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, The plot is basically the same, but a lot of things will be different, exit stage left, gay gets caught in trap and then cue other gay to save them, lapis and Peridot switch perspectives, more tags will be added as soon as I begin to progress the story more, rewrite of the Werewolf and Her Faun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2019-10-22 02:02:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17653922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlet_Was_Here/pseuds/Scarlet_Was_Here
Summary: The world has gone to shit; an absolute nightmare with nothing considered normal anymore. Humans are an odd concept now, and monsters are the ones that roam the earth after a nuclear showdown in World War III.And that's where the story of Lapis and Peridot begin to form in the remains of it all.





	1. Weepy Wolf - Lapis

**Author's Note:**

> If you missed it in the tags, this is a rewrite of a story I had written before. I decided to change a lot of things, and finally make it the way I wanted it.  
> I was inspired by Fallout and Last of Us (if you haven't played or watched those games, then you need to)! So, yeah.

The truth came known to me as soon as my feet had hit the ground: I didn't want to make the journey alone. I was fed up with the loneliness the roads and woods could bring. Tired of the half hearted conversations with the occasional whores and other travelers that spared far and in between; the same story followed them akin to ghosts. I wanted a companion. Went out of my way seeking it even. Up north was where I believed it to be best. Every living being went there; animals could even sense it. The supposed news of a life up there made people drawn to it like vultures to a carcass.

My throat felt dry and my tongue even stuck to the roof of my mouth. My bag started tolling for a break of water and I only ushered my feet forward, palming at the next tree to keep myself steady. It was just as rugged and bare as everything else in this wasteland, and I’m sure I didn’t look any better.

I glanced up, sparing interest, and stared up at the thick trunk as it towered over me; endless branches that sunk down like grabbing hands. The lone tree from which all life flowed out away from like wispy ghosts. Built upon the bones of the deceased; buried with their regrets like lynching chains. Maybe in another time they too lived like anyone else; shiny white picket fences, with a dog that their beloved children played with dearly, and they could sit on the porch and drink lemonade as the sun would set, and the summer heat began to ebb away.

Although, that was all gone now wasn’t it?

Did it even ever existed to begin with? I couldn’t actually remember. But it felt like something to hold onto. So I did. Call it false hope, but it was comforting at least. Painstakingly so knowing I couldn’t witness it.

What would I even name a dog? I suddenly thought. Probably something generic like Rex, or Sparky. Or maybe something stupid, like Barkimedes. I snorted. That’s so, so stupid.

I sat down, and then leaned against the tree. I had to fight to stay awake. So, I unslung my bag and dug around for my canteen before taking large gulps, and then I stuffed it back. After a moment of sitting, I forced myself back up. It took a second to catch my footing, but I did it even as my muscles complained and ached. I worked the ability to start walking again without any further judgement.

But felt my feet leave the ground.

I let out a strangled shout, air whistling in my ears as my world is yanked upside down, turned and tossed, and I then just hung like a baited fish waiting to be gutted. It was hard to understand what just happened before realizing a trap had sprung. A trap that was so fucking obvious, yet I didn’t see it. A wounded animal was likely supposed to be here. Not me.  


I gave in though, I was too tired to fight.

The moonlight bathed my hollow face in a silvery lick, and I let it caress my eyes to sleep away the pain. How long has it been since I’ve properly slept? Gods forbid they know.

The rope gave way to a hungry groan, and I thought surely it was going to break--leave my head for the snapping jaws of death below that have awaited my greetings for a while--but nothing else came out of it. It couldn’t have been guessed how long this trap has been here. Maybe some settlement forgot about it as the world fell into shit.

I closed my eyes.  _ Gods,  _ I was so tired . . .

“ _ Dia dhuit?” _

My breath stuck to the inside of my throat, and my eyes fluttered open. I followed over to where the voice came from. A figure emerged from the dark of my west side, hands tucked close to her chest as she took quiet church mice steps out into where the moon could catch her vaguely enough. It was hard to make proper details, but I knew she was at least skittish.

“ _ An blitfuil tu’ ceart go leor?”  _ she calls before dropping her voice low, muttering to herself. “Wait. What was the English word? Oh, uh, shoot!” There’s a dragged out pause before she stops right under me. “Are you okay?” she yells to the air.

I grunt, and it quickly draws her attention, and she gasps.

“How did that happen? That must have been . . .” she shakes her head, clicking her tongue. “That idiot. Hold on! I’ll get you down!”

She rushes off behind the withering tree from which I hung. I wondered if she had actually ran off before I lurched forward and my stomach felt it, too. My head began a slow descent back to the ground, and upon touching I didn’t make a move as the woman hovered over me, casting a thoughtful look at my face, and I saw her different colored eyes; one blue and the other green.

Peculiar, I thought.

She tore away the threaded rope with some sort of blade. I could see its shimmer in the light and see it wink at me as she pushed it back into her apron pocket. Her hand makes contact with my forehead, and it reminds me of my mother too much. She fretted over me as any tender parent would, and made sure I had a warm bowl of soup in my gut before sending me off to rest. I could hear her now. Her distinct grin on her lips when you heard her speak.

_ “What did I just say?” Her hands were tossed onto her hips, and I must have looked like a child with their hand caught in the cookie jar because there was a crook of a smile. “Get back to bed! I don’t want you leaving your room until that fever has gone down.” _

_ She hooked her arms around me, attempting to carry me even as I whined and often bargained to let me stay out a bit longer with my little brother. “I’ll do my chores without an allowance!” I might have said or maybe, “Come on! Five more minutes, Ma!” _

It was always something like that.

“Yeah, I was suspecting you had a fever. A really bad one no less.”

An accent. That wasn’t my mother.

I had to break away from the unspoken memory and looked up as the stranger was still bent over me, examining without dare touching now. I could already tell she was rather reserved, but it didn’t take a detective to spot my cuts and scrapes from which I tried to hide with dirty bandages. Probably looked like I bathed in a pig sty on my free time from how she wrinkled her nose.

Her frame was small, stuffed under a ragged sweater, but proved she was at least compatible of heaving me up to my feet. I rested against her side, bashful with a bite of strength as she tried to carry me away--began to become more like dragging me halfway through though.

We were granted some slight reassurance of a fire she made, and it helped distinguish her more. A shock of short cropped blonde hair swept up like it was permanently caught in wind, and even in the dark it proved a set of horns that stuck out from her head like little rooted stumps just showed she was no different from any other living being on this earth. Mutated.

My drowsiness got the better of me, closing me in, swallowing me whole. I fought, but it was an obvious losing battle from the start. I made it this far. I didn’t know this person nor their intentions and, I couldn't just let myself down like this. I can’t go back. I refuse to. Not after the flames choked me out of my home and my family.

“It’s alright,” the woman soothed, and it sent an odd shiver down my spine. Too familiar to my mother’s. I hated it, but it still had the same effect like hers did. A settle of comfort like silk, and I balled into her as she sat us down as a kitten would. “Rest now. I’ll get us there, okay?”

Where was “there” though? I wanted to ask, but light fled from my fingertips, and I slept.

 

The crackling of a fire.

I felt drowsy upon waking, my blood felt dry--sticky even to the inside of my flesh. There was obviously people with me, their voices didn’t filter in correctly though, and they collided together into a swirling mess like a storm overhead. I could feel a headache, and I had to blink away the tears.

“--and _what_ did I tell you?” a woman hissed, gruff and rather low. It reminded me vaguely of a tiger with how I imagined her with snarling and snapping teeth.

“Look, you know I couldn’t have just--”

“Couldn’t what? Couldn’t just leave her out there? You know damn well you could have! And you _should_ have!”

The two go back and forth for a moment longer and it then hurt too much to listen to anymore. I groaned and turned away, stuffing myself in a pillow.

One side goes quiet, and then a door slams, and I wish to puke. But, silence is put up right again.

“Hey, are you awake?”

I grunt.

Peridot. That was the name of the woman with the soothing voice from before. The one with the mannerisms of my mother. She reminded me more of a shy sheep compared to whoever the other person was.

“Oh, thank gods. You slept like you haven’t slept for years! It's been like three days you've been out," she chuckled.

I don’t think she understands how true that statement stands. I still felt like I could close my eyes and pass out again, here and now.

“Anyhow, let me see if you’re doing any better than what I found you.” She lays her hand against my forehead, and hums. “Not bad results I must say. Well, at least you’re not burning up like when I found you.”

I still didn’t say anything.

“Eh, I assume you’re thirsty, aye?”  I don’t even give the mockery of a response as Peridot hops up. “Well, I’ll be right back.”

She scurries off, ducking out a door. My eyes washed themselves in this clean place; white curtains that held birthed sunlight in its fabric, and a fireplace hugged me in its warmed hold. I find it fueled my aching bones, cracking in little crevices.

“Here.” Peridot had swept back into the room, and I hadn’t even seen her come in before she was standing near me. She shoved a canteen into my hand. “Drink up. It’s a bit lukewarm, but I’m sure you won’t mind, right?”

I nod and downed the water, and relished in something more than the bitter substance I had before. Swallowing hurt, but gave me the freedom to think a bit more clearly. I sputtered into a harsh coughing fit, and Peridot was there immediately, rubbing my back.

“Careful now, lass. Went down the wrong pipe, aye?”

I wheezed, and she laughed, a hand still resting like it was there to serve protection.

“Alright, well, I’m still waiting for the pot of stew to be done, so I guess we have time,” she said.

I try to stare through this obvious facade, tear down its wall. Too much teeth showing through her smile, and a sense of being here made me queasy. This wasn’t real, something was off. But I guess this person was mutated just like anyone else I had crossed. I had to remind myself she was nothing special. Peridot had the legs of a deer, and the horns that I saw before were correct; although I now saw they were chipped at the edges. There was a hint of the familiarity sass of a black cat in her features, too. The way her eyes seemed to flit around the room like even she wasn’t sure the sigh of the wind or the restlessness the room made was real or not. Her ears pointed, bent down as she looked out a far window, and I caught the glint of whiskers on her cheeks.

“Are you okay?”

Shit. Was I caught staring?

“You look like you want to say something,” she continues. Again, she smiles.

Peridot was good at keeping this mask on. I would at least give her that much.

“Well, anyhow,” she hops back up, “I’ll be right back--again. Now, be good or I might have to sick my dog on you,” she quips.

I knew it was a joke, but I still shriveled up in the given blanket. I realized it was a lot thinner than I thought, and I then I was curious about this dog. I wonder what Peridot named it. My mother said how someone named something said something about them in return. It wasn't a life lesson, just a joke, but maybe it could apply here anyways.

Given what I remember, every living thing came out like someone swapped their limbs out with something else or added something that didn’t need to be there: more arms, eyes, anything that created a fucking nightmare half the time. Although, I wanted to say I looked well enough. At least a little kid wouldn’t scream upon seeing me like I’m the image of the monster under their bed. My lower half sported wolf legs, and I shared aquatic features with webbed fingers and a set of gills on my sides. I was only thankful I didn’t have any extra limbs. I could deal with the random scruffs of fur on my arms and torso as enough.

I smelled the stew before I saw Peridot with it. She carried a plank of wood with her, cut freshly, and laid it down on my lap before setting the bowl down on the makeshift table.

“Apologies, it’s mostly broth at this point,” she said.

I didn’t care, and I slurped the serving down. It burned my throat as it came back up, and it left my mouth and spilled onto the floor.

“Woah, woah!” Peridot jumped up, probably to dodge the sudden puke. “Eat slow now. It’s best to take sips. You’re still recovering after all.”

Listening as she said so, I took measly spoonfuls after blowing away the steam, and while there was still the burn of vomit in my nose and mouth, I at least ate. Peridot grabs the bowl after all was consumed and pushes it away. I stared down at my fingers before I find the other woman’s eyes, and she sees what everyone else probably sees. Just some tired misfit.

“I, just, um. I just want to apologize about my sister,” she stammered, tapping her fingers for a hopeful fill of words. “We have dealt with--if you could call it--’ _ attacks _ .’ But, I know you are not with them! I just have a good feeling about you. So, um, welcome to Crystal Sanctuary!”

I looked ahead and there’s silence again. Rather awkward silence. I know I should say something expected: “Thank you!” or “It’s nice to be here.” But my tongue was tied.

“Uh, you know, I never quite caught your name.”

My mouth opens, but my voice falls flat like it was caught in spiders’ webs, and I’m stumped between telling her a lie as it presses against my teeth. I just shake my head “no.” Nothing new if someone said they didn't have a name. Some lost more than their names.

“Oh . . . well, you can choose one! Yeah! Like, a lot of our people here tend to name themselves after gems. It’s kind of a long story why, but now it’s just our thing. Oh! and--"

“Lapis,” I state before I put more thought into it.

“Huh?”

“The gemstone--Lapis Lazuli.  That’s my name. I've for some reason always liked it.”

She smiles and then claps her hands together, and I hold back a flinch. “Wonderful! And I’m sure glad you chose quick,” she laughs.

I was absolutely blissful.  _ A new name _ . It was like dropping a cloth over the past, and slipping it under the rug, and no one was the wiser. No parent to lecture me about being lazy. I was happy enough with that, and I felt a sigh leave as Peridot continued to babble on.


	2. Taste of Glass - Peridot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not updating! A lot of things came up, and I also had rewritten this chapter.

Over time did I come to the realization that I was never made of a said substance. Rather, I was something more ghastly; a shadow--my mother’s shadow. My family no better even, as my father was known as the most unscrupulous seducer come to date. Known at the local bar with a smirk like a well stitched glove. He would torment me the way a cat does a mouse. He’s just always waiting to pounce--watching with intent--just watching every step I make that only gets me closer to his grasp. 

Now with the Crystal Gems; a muck group of monsters that managed to band together, and rule a town together. It was actually almost funny how they managed to do it--just fake it til you make it. I, to them, was nothing truly important. No actual name to myself, but just a medic and most importantly a mechanic. Crafting out of bolts, and scraps was like another sense. My hands would move on their own like I was being pulled along like a puppeteer. It was the only answer that came onto the spot--only one I would take to get away.

Our newly acquainted stranger, Lapis Lazuli, followed me out into the rain, and I decided there we would head to the Gems themselves. Get them to speak on the matter of this newcomer. We watch water flow down the gutter like the drinking of an alcoholic as we walked side by side on the sidewalks. It was rather humid, and I scratched the urge to tear away my sweater.

  
“So, about your sister,” Lapis began in a murmur.

“Yeah?”

“She was the one that set up the trap, right?”

I sigh, almost struggling to not grind my teeth together. “Yeah. Again, sorry about that. I told her to stop putting those damned things out there, because I know she’s going to lose them, and then that'll waste supplies.”

She chuckled faintly. “That almost seems weird considering it’s--”  
“Rather bare out there? Yeah I know.” She side looks me. “Sorry, just knew I had to put in my two cents.”

Lapis grunts. She seems to do that a lot.

We walk where the road dries up a tad, and run shacked houses with boarded windows became more acquainted. Finally, it trails off to moist dirt, mud clinging to our feet as we hunker under an eaten away bridge, no higher than our heads. And a door stood in the cobbled walls, lumbered with great red oak. To me, the entire structure, and the door in general, seemed eaten away by the past like maggots on rotting meat, but Lapis looked to be marveling it all. At least if she ever wanted a sight for sore eyes, it was easy to manage here as long as you were willing to take off onto the very much unused and beaten off path. I gave a good few knocks; a certain rapping that helped keep the outsiders away. An unspoken code.

The door creaked open and Pearl poked her head out. “Hello there. Who’s your friend?”

“This is Lapis Lazuli.” I wait as they shake hands, or more attempt to. It was difficult through all of Pearl’s plentiful of feathers, and I watch humorously as Lapis nearly catches herself on Pearl’s sharpened claws. “And, Lapis, this is Pearl.”

“Is this the girl you found outside the walls?” she asks, and I nod.

“Yeah, I’m assuming Squaridot came by to give you ear about it, huh?”

The woman sighs, and seems almost exhausted just by the mention of her name. “Sadly enough. I understand her concerns, but we can’t shut everyone out. Especially when it’s just  _ one  _ person.” Pearl stares at Lapis for a moment, almost looking to be sizing her up. “Anyhow, come in please. You two are absolutely soaked through.”

Our clothes did indeed stick to us like a second layer of flesh, and the hearth of a fire in the corner of the room tickled me with chills that crawled up my spine like spiders. My companion audibly was trying to cover her mouth to be rid of the sound of her chattering teeth in the pin prick silence. I almost laughed.

Pearl draped well knitted towels over us, practically dragging us over to the fireplace. “Please sit,” she ushers. “As everyone knows, getting sick is the absolute worst thing you can do around here. It’s an unspoken rule of thumb”

Lapis raises an eyebrow, glancing at me, and I mouth,  _ don’t ask _ .

“Do you guys want anything?” the feathered lady goes on. “Perhaps something to drink? Preferably warm, of course.”

“I’m fine. What about you, Lazuli?” I turn to her, and see she’s staring into another room; completely distracted. “Lazuli?”

She blinks, looking at me now. “What?”

“Pearl was asking if you wanted something warm to drink.”

“Oh no, I’m fine! Thank you though, ma’am,” Lapis says to her.

Pearl chuckles, and her feathers even ruffle with the sound. “Please, it’s just Pearl. We can keep it on a first name basis. Anyhow, I’m going to start some tea. I’ll make sure there’s plenty in case either of you change your mind.”

We nod an agreement, and Pearl walked off, talons clicking against the wood as she resides. I look over, and again, Lapis is just staring off. Occupied with something I can’t catch.

“Pardon me, but is everything okay?” I ask, and Lapis jumps like a startled doe.

“Huh?”

“You keep staring off. Anything on your mind?”

She blinks, and her eyes are so bright blue with curiosity, that it reminds me of a small child. She juts a finger towards her left. “I was just looking at the library.”

“Oh, do you enjoying reading as well?” I inquire. “I assume it probably  _ has  _ been a while since you’ve read anything at all.

“I’m no bookworm,” she laughs quietly, “I’m just surprised there’s so many for such a small room. I mean, after what has happened . . .”

I nod sorrowfully, and even from where I sat I could see the withering array of stems of stories like wilting flowers; untouched, and unkempt long in the garden. It was hard to get around in there unless you knew it before it got stacked high. I then offered my hand as I stood. “Would you care for a closer look?”

We walked in almost hand in hand before I released her to explore everything in her grasp. Anything her hands could take her to. “What’s this about?” she asks with a musty book in between her palms.

I look over her shoulder, and through the faded colors there was two figures; a princess, and a knight in his shining white armor that gleamed yellow in the sun. He was saving the damsel in distress on his mighty steed, running away from a dragon. Fire leaping from its cracked lips, bellowing.

“Nothing much,” I respond. “Just some typical fairytale it seems.”

But Lapis looked completely enamored with it, and carefully turned the pages to look through it like it was the most fragile porcelain. “I want to read this,” she spoke quietly. “It may be stupid to you--”

“Hey now, I never said it was--”

“--but I really want to read this. I think it’s interesting. That’s all.” There was something else in there. A flit to her tone, almost shaky, but it was gone as soon as I heard it. 

“I’m back!” Pearl says from the other before pausing. “Where did you guys . . . ? Oh! There you two are.”

The plate clinks as she settles it onto the nearest table, propping herself up on a stool. “Is this setting more complimentary for your liking?”

Pages only crinkle from Lapis as her nose is dug in deep into reading, and so I answer for her, “you could say that. Perhaps not as warming as the fire, but fine enough.”

“Not exactly as cleaned out either,” Pearl pitches, and brings a finger to slide against a near shelf, bringing up a thin layer of dust caking her finger. She sighs. “I hope you can pardon this. I’ve been trying to get around to dusting all of it.”

I wave my hand. “No worries. But actually. Lazuli here,” she perks up at the sound of being mentioned, “would enjoy being able to take one of these books--”

“Wait a second, I never said--” she starts, but I continue.

“--and hopefully you wouldn’t mind.”

Pearl laughs at how Lapis’ cheeks color in roses before she then smacks my arm as though we’re good, old friends. “Peridot!” she hisses through her fangs.

“No no, it’s quite alright,” Pearl says. “Go ahead. There’s plenty of books left here, and honestly, that book is not really my favorite.”

Lapis shuffles on her heels, and the poor girl looks embarrassed. “Uh, thanks then.”

I prod at her arm, and whisper, “can you go ahead, and wait outside? I’ll be there in a second. I just need to talk to Pearl real quick.”

She looks between us, and then shuffles out of the room after she declines another offer of tea from my companion. Once sure, the other woman turns to me. “A lovely girl,” she remarks. “I’m glad you’re finally making better friends. If any at all.”

I roll my eyes. “ _ Anyways _ , do you know of any place where Lazuli can house for tonight? Perhaps, longer?”

Pearl hummed, drumming her fingers against the table top with a steady rhythm with a sip. “I’ll have to check in with Garnet, and Amethyst. Maybe she can stay with you in the meanwhile?”

“What? No way! My sister would have a canary!”

“Squaridot is rarely ever there, Miss Gundacker.” The last name. She was pissed. “And it would be in your best interest to not raise your voice in here.” Her tone was light, but her eyes were trying to murder me from across the table.

I clucked. “Whatever.”

“Come back the next day, and we may have something to give you,” she says as I go to take my leave. “Oh, and Peridot? I would hope you treat that girl right. You understand why as well.”

 

 

“Everything alright?” Lapis asks me as we’re walking. Outsiders wave at me from huddled up wooden shacks, looking to be only held together with spit and tape, expecting a nod of acknowledgement, or maybe a passing smile like usual, but I only keep my legs moving. I usher Lapis to do the same.

“Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”

“Because you have this perpetual frown on your face, and I’m worried it’s because I’m practically bombarding into your home.”

I softened. Under all the scars, and childlike ignorance, she had her concerns like anyone else. She still was  _ actually _ a child after all. I shook my head. “No, it’s not that, Lazuli. Trust me. I’m just thinking about stuff,” I said. Which wasn’t completely true, but I didn’t have to verify anything to her.

She hummed, and kicked a rock as we neared my home, and I listened to her claws skitter with the rock. Unlocking my door, and pushing it aside, Pumpkin was the first to catch wind, and practically ensnared my legs with her body like a recoiled spring sprung back too far. I nearly went crashing down, but Lapis’ arms were out to catch my fall.

“You okay?” she laughs. “Cute dog by the way.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I shoulder past, and gladly bestow into my fridge with the small dog at my heel. My fingers clasped around the neck of a bottle, and felt satisfied before it was even at my tongue yet. “Hey, Lazuli? Could you fetch me a glass?” I called behind my shoulder. “It’s top cabinet. To my left.”

Immediately there was clinking, and shuffling before a glass appeared to my side. “Thanks.” Then I poured myself an amount of whiskey. “You want anything to drink, or was Pearl’s tea enough to make you rethink about having liquids altogether?”

Lapis laughs, and it rings off like little bells. “Nothing like that. But water does actually sound refreshing.”

I nod. “Honestly, for a day like today, a drink is my only solution before tomorrow.”

“What’s tomorrow? A special occasion or something?” she inquires.

“Just town meeting. It chooses the fate of a lot of things around here. More so, people’s fates.”


	3. Forged Heart - Lapis

I expected people to stare. A new face in a small town can be quite catching, especially when given a shock of electric blue hair. But this was certainly a lot. Every time I move my head, people catch my eye and then just lock onto me; concerned etched onto their face, or anger. They don’t even bother to act like they aren’t staring.

People can be weird here is what I concluded it to. Deciding how others be should spared or not was already weird for a town meeting, so maybe this shouldn’t surprise me. The crowd parted in the front to allow us space, and we surrounded around a polished wooden stage with a podium where an older gentleman stood behind it. Dark hair, and even darker eyes that complimented his suit.

“Hello, hello! Now for any of my new faces in the crowd,” he caught my gaze, “I am Governor Amory. And I’m more than glad to see the rest your familiar faces here today,” his voice boomed like fading, rolling thunder. “Glad to see that you care so much to see for yourself a model of how we operate things around here.”

I feel stares boring holes into my back. I force the urge to not turn around to meet them.

“So, let’s get this elephant out of the room. Guards!” he called, and a couple of broad men usher an aging man up onto the stage, forcing him down onto his knees. The elder had his hands bound behind his back.

I tried to catch Peridot’s attention by willing her to look at me.  _ What the hell is going on _ ?

“First and foremost we must remember how punishments will go for thieves,” he continues, and I can see the twitch of a duping smile as his audience gasped. “Yes, you’ve heard me right. A thief has bestowed himself in our homes, eating our food, and taking our supplies.”

Murmurs erupted from the people around me. Peridot’s face was relaxed, and yet I can see how her shoulders tense when Amory came over to the older man, and heaved him up onto his feet by the collar of his ragged shirt. Shoving him around so everyone can see his guilt-ridden face; fresh tears trailed down his ashened cheeks into his beard, and he grimaced at the bloodthirsty crowd.

I knew nothing of this man; didn’t know the stories he may tell his family or perhaps how he loved the taste of rum when he hung with friends. He was scared, marked by time, and yet I knew nothing. I wanted to surge forward, to raise my voice at these people, say this was wrong. I still stood amongst the midst of it though. Peridot knew him.  _ Had  _ to. There was an obvious familiarity about this man to her, especially when they began dragging him away by his bony arms. Her hands clenched into fists, but she also held back.

The old man became hysterical, and we only continued to gather around him, and slowly follow like patriots to a damned zoo as they got closer to the outer walls.

“Please!” the old man pleaded, voice choked and hoarse. “I have a wife and child! You can’t do this!”

One of the guards gruffly butted his chest in with the end of his rifle when he surged forward. “You’re nothing special, pal. Keep blubbering and I’m sure you’re family wouldn’t mind joining you.”

“No, please!” he cried. “Don’t punish them for my misdoings. Don't do anything to them! You mustn't!”

They dragged him while he sobbed, incoherently begging. I was thinking they were going to break him. He was so brittle like thin glass. No one was concerned, just morbidly curious. Even satisfied. Guards had to keep us back as then the doors to the outside were thrown open with the flip of a switch, and it let out a loud groan. Moaned like a dismal autumn wind as it inverted upwards like a mechanical folding fan.

“Get!” a guard yelled, throwing the elder out before tossing a duffel bag with him. “You have supplies in there, so quit crying. You should be thankful if anything.”

And with that, the doors then closed with a deafening thud. The crowd was suffocating, and I felt like couldn’t breathe. My heart was struck with an odd pain that dropped into an empty hole in my stomach.  I needed to get out of here, but I couldn’t with everyone gathering together like a hive of bees to chatter.

“Do you think they gave him enough?” someone asked

“Doesn't matter. Highly doubt he’ll be able to fight off any creatures seeing how old he is. He can only pray to the gods for his safety.”

I was shaking my head over and over, and felt my knees buckle. Crying sounded so foreign even in these somber breaths, and I turned around to find what must be his family. Or what’s left of it now. The mother met my stare, and then squeezed her son to her body, shoulders squaring before she got to her feet, and shoved her way through people, disappearing in the mounds of bodies.

“Hey,” Peridot murmured, putting her hand on my elbow to steer me out from the crowd. “Let’s go.”

Governor Amory was beginning to speak to the audience again, and his voice filled my hollow head. Suddenly sounded like a howling storm as he progressed further into his tyrant. 

“What the actual fuck was that?” I questioned, spinning on my heel.

Peridot steps back like I just spit venom. “Do you really want me to answer that?” She gave me a look that suspected  _ I _ was the crazy one here.

“Uh, yes? I thought this sanctuary was safe!”

Her hand left me, and I almost hate to admit I miss the warmth. “It is safe, Lazuli. Choices like that are difficult, but must be made. You’ll understand more the longer you stay here.”

I felt a pain in my chest again. That response sounded so robotic. My skin felt clammy. “What did he steal? How much even? Was it really so bad that they had to throw him out?” I pressed, and then grabbed her wrist. “Tell me. Aren’t you even curious?”

She took to silence.

“Peridot, please. That was wrong. You know it as much as I do. It wasn't warranted, no matter what they may say.”

She snatched her arm back from my grasp, jaw locked tight, and her body radiated irritation like an open wound. “Let’s just get back to Pearl, and see what goes on from there.”

 

The old bridge greeted us along with Peridot’s feathered companion. She stood, leaning against the rotting cinder, and a small lantern glowed under her shawl. Pearl juts her chin out. “Hello there,” she greeted. “Glad to see you two again without the bad weather.” She smiles at me, but I can’t lift my lips to match hers. My teeth are pressed together, and I’m afraid of the voice in me that wants to rise in protest for the poor man who couldn't speak for himself. “Anyhow, no library exploring for today as we actually haven’t found any living accommodations that can take Lapis. Whether on her own or not.¨

I see Peridot go to argue, but she holds a finger to her. “We’ve been busy to put it simply.” 

Peridot’s jaw unhinged, faltering. “Pearl, please, my sister . . .”

“I’ll talk to her if she’s so displeased.”

Has anyone even considered what I wanted? Peridot was more than pleasant, yet she was so jumpy of everything, and couldn’t breath if she stopped moving. Sometimes it rubbed off on me, and I had to check whether it was really just the wind shaking the walls outside the house. All I could hear from downstairs last night when I was beginning to drift off was trinkets of metal, and a hammer meeting against it. And it’s no wonder why she has permanent shadows under her eyes.

Peridot crossed her arms, but she doesn't bother to raise her voice again. She looked as delicate as a flower.

Pearl turns back to me. “My apologies for the inconvenience, Lapis,” she said. “I hope you understand we’re trying.”

I don’t care anymore, the sky was glistening over us with dying sun like a candle snuffed, and I couldn’t bother to stop the question: “can I ask you something, Pearl?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Why was that old man thrown out? I mean, surely, stealing supplies can´t be that bad, right? Not to be tossed out like that.” The words came quicker than I thought, but seeing the chance arise made it clog my throat till it popped like shaken soda.

“Lazuli,” Peridot warned.

“No, Peridot! I need to know. It’s been bothering me, and you know that!”

Pearl sighs, and her feathers even seem to breathe as well, laying flat to her limbs. “I understand why you’re frustrated.” Judging by how she wrung her hands, she actually did. “But if you will allow me, I’ll explain everything of how we treat criminals, and,” she gestured weakly, “and how we treat people like him.”

Peridot’s eyes pierced me as we took our seats inside, and the fire lamented her features, casting strange shadows. Blue and green with her had a way of being gorgeously bright, but seeing her so angry proved the darkening hues in them never had ceased to exist. What confused me is I wasn’t sure if I was the target of her glare. She wasn’t looking at me.

Relaying it all was a headache at dinner. The old man was Roger  Hernandez, and he worked at a shop the size of a matchbox, selling pastries down near the broken neighborhood that led into where the Crystal Gems hid. His day of being useful had ended. Simple. Slowly counting off the calendar, and he was none the wiser. He was trialed for his age, not for his thievery. Hell, he only stole to feed for his family when his job wasn’t providing enough for an income. What Pearl told me only ended with more questions than answers; if that crowd of people couldn’t know, then why was I allowed? Maybe because my word wouldn’t be counted for if I tried to say anything? I was new here after all, and no one had any real reason to believe me.

I can’t stomach anything. I shoved another morsel of meat into my mouth, but I wasn’t tasting it. Peridot took a seat beside me, and we then sat in tense, thick silence. We only continued to associate with our turmoil inside.

Her sister--actually an identical twin--stared between us with a look I couldn’t read. Squaridot wanted to say something, but her lips remained pursed. Her eye caught me, and I tore my gaze away. I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the other one.

“Well?” Squaridot barked.

“Well what?” Peridot asked.

“How long is  _ she  _ supposed to be staying here?” She jabbed her thumb at me, mouth pulled back into a snarl.

I sunk back into my seat. I should have just slept outside when I had the chance.

Peridot shrugs, and wanted to disappear as well considering the creases in her forehead. “I really don’t know yet. Just give it some time, sis. The Crystal Gems are doing what they can.”

“Bullshit,” she hisses under her breath. “Do you really believe that?”

Judging by Peridot’s silence, she couldn’t answer that.

They both equally twitched with foreign feelings, and their fur bristled.

“I think I’ll just go,” I said finally. “You know, out for a walk.” Keeping my head bowed, I made my way for the front door, but my wrist was gripped into a desperate vice. I turn to Squaridot, seething. 

“I’d rather you not.”

Peridot sighs, and stands up with her. “Sis, let her go--”

“Can’t you see? I know you’re not fucking blind, Peridot! Look at those markings on her back.”

I instinctively shoved her off when she reached around towards the back of my neck. I yank my collar up. “What about them?” I demand.

“Are you stupid, too? Those markings bring nothing good. Least of all our solution we can’t yet figure out.”

What does that even mean? I look to Peridot, and she turns away immediately. I found my voice again. “You’re completely crazy!” I stammered. ¨What does anything on my body have to do with you? Or anyone for that matter?”

Squaridot shook her head, distraught, brows knitted together. “You're kidding. You have to be. No one told you? You don’t know anything about the stories?”

“Told me what? What stories?” I questioned, and I was trying to get silent help from Peridot again to input how nuts this was, but she still had her back towards me. “What is going on? Can anyone tell me?”

Peridot starts towards us, but only to lay a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Not tonight, sis. Please not right now.”

Squaridot’s eyes switched between us, filling more with anger like poison in a bubbling cauldron before she stormed off past me, and outside, making sure the door slammed behind her with enough force that made the thin walls shake.

We fell silent, and I felt sick. What was wrong with me? What about the tattoos that branded my flesh? I was ready to charge after her, demand answers, but my feet were rooted to the floorboards by Peridot’s face; pale, and awfully tired. She just aged by the argument alone.

“I’m . . .” her voice falls into her chest, and she licked her lips. “I think it’s time for bed.”

Again, a need to disagree pressed against the flat of my tongue, but I instead crept up the stairs with her to our rooms. I laid flat, feeling bed sheets swallow me into a state of near sleep before I heard hooves clicking against wood, and the sound of metal ringing below downstairs with fervor.


	4. Whisper of Truth - Peridot

My sister was more than an idiot. An idiot that needed to play the hero constantly, speak the truth when she knew damn well to nothing; took rumors passed around the street as fact. So of course she spilled pieces to Lapis about the tangle of markings on her back, like a winded geyser. To make her think. To make her question me and herself.

The fool.

And then what? Make the poor girl look towards me like a lost puppy in search for a home? What was I supposed to say to that face? "You're exactly what we need to get closer to stopping the further end of the world. Maybe even have everything go back to what it used to be, but you won't be there to see it in that case."

Stupid, stupid.

Squaridot always hated me. That much we equally knew. She couldn't get into the Crystal Gems like I could. Couldn't make a name of herself. Looked at me with bitterness that cut deep with soil from the past. She was always treated as the shadow of mine as I was to our mother, and her to our father; rinse, cycle, repeat. Everything in our family was a shadow after another; ghouls that peeled off its flesh to take the next place in the tree.

I wiped the sweat off my brow. I could never be sure if this project was getting anywhere close to done. The hunk of metal that was the pinnacle of alchemy and science.  _That_ I was sure of. The Crystal Gems picked me for one thing, and that was my skill. Picked me clean of everything I had: meat, tendon, bones. And they could have it. They could have it all. But they could never take this from me. I breathed this oil in, the soot was what pumped my heart. I thrived like the start of an engine when it comes to creating. I was one with what I create down in this cellar.

"Peridot? Are you down here?"  _Lapis_. Shit.

I wrestle with a tarp to cover everything. I grit my teeth hearing weight settle on the wooden steps, sparking a moment of panic in my chest. “I’ll be there in a second! Just give me one moment.” Throwing the tarp over with clumsy hands, I jumped towards the stairs, meeting Lapis’ eyes that were sewn with a leading curious blue. “What are you doing down here?” I bite.

“I-I was just looking for you. You know, I assumed you were down here and--”

“I was making too much noise wasn’t I?” I rubbed the sting away from my eyes, and felt the weight of sleepless nights on my fingertips. “Gods, I’m really sorry. I’m not used to having others in the house at night.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay. I just wanted to see what you were doing. Perhaps maybe asking if you needed any help.”

“You're kindness is appreciated, but I don’t want anyone seeing what's down here,” I said.

Lapis stared down at me, defiant. She crossed her arms, her spine rocking straight. Her way of trying to look intimidating truly showed her age. Just some teen with the world on her shoulders rather unbeknownst to herself. Lapis stood a step above me, and I could tell she was searching the dark outlines of the cellar for anything to feed her questions; anything to tuck into her cheek to chew on for later. I couldn’t give her that though as much as it may pain her. I usher her back upstairs.

“Are you not able to sleep?” Lapis says. She definitely asked way too many questions to be comfortable. Too many questions that may lead to many I can't answer.

“Not really. I mean, I'm just getting a head start on a project of mine. What about you? You don't look so hot.” The pigment in Lapis’ mocha-colored flesh had filtered into the slight tint of a ghost. She rubbed at her eyes.

“I guess it's just difficult to get used to a new place. So, yeah, I'm not doing so good in the whole sleeping spectrum.”

Of course you aren't, I thought. After what Squaridot has said, sleep is probably the last thing on your mind. I pull the bottle of rum out from the fridge, and gesture. “You want to try this for tonight?”

She gnaws on her lip, and then her shoulders sag. “That would be wonderful actually.”

As I pour, she trails around the kitchen, staring up at the hung photos of my sister and I. “Where is Squaridot anyhow? She just ran off, and hasn't returned.”

I shrug, and tip my glass to drink. “I couldn’t tell you. Probably at Pearl’s, complaining.”

“About me I’m assuming?”

“For the most definite part.”

Lapis grunts, and her face scrunches when she tries her tongue at the liquor. “I really can’t understand how you always drink this. Is it really worth the buzz?”

I shrug. “You just get used to it. Honestly, it took myself longer than I thought.”

We shared another drink after another. Sipping pints turned into chugging cups before bottles started disappearing, our voices pinch together in a mess of slurs.

 

“ _ Mo cheann _ ,” I groaned. I rubbed my temple, and my head throbbed against my fingers like a heartbeat. “Why did I have to drink so much?”

“That’s certainly a good question.”

I stumbled to my feet, and twisted towards Lapis. “What the hell? Why are you in my room?” After the walls began to cease from its spinning I felt the cold air cascading around my exposed torso. I wrapped my arms around myself hastily. “And where the hell is my shirt!?”

“Oh relax, buttercup,” Lapis yawns. “You threw up on yourself. I didn’t want to leave you to sleep in your own filth.”

My face burned, and I swallowed. “That’s thoughtful and all, but I would rather you have left that shirt on instead of undressing me while I laid unconscious,” I said. “And that doesn't explain why you were laying in my bed.”

“I wanted to make sure you didn’t choke in your sleep.” She stepped up, and stretched. “Anyhow, before you blow off on me, I'm going to let you change now, and I’m going to go down to make some breakfast now that you’re up.”

My ears flattened to the side of my head. I wanted to demand something of her, but I didn't know what or why for that matter. The floor tried greeting me as bile rose in my throat. “Sounds like a plan."

I plopped onto my bed. The mirror across from me that sat on my desk reflected my sickly face, twisted into a grimace, sweat mopping my brow. I absentmindedly wipe it away, and stuck my hair further up. I tossed whatever I could find on, and left.

My fingers dug into the railing, and I held on tight, practically crawling my way down. The aroma of meat, and fresh products filled my nose and brought me to the kitchen where Lapis’ back greeted me, and she switched between the pans in a small, tuneless dance. The closer I got, the more the puke became easier to swallow. I took a seat, keeping intent attention on the other.

I watched her silently. I kept catching the bright markings that strung along together under her shirt, marrying around the back of her neck that nearly hid away under her collar.

“You want some water?” Lapis turns to ask. “You look about ready to throw up again.”

“Yeah, that would be nice. Thank you.”

She sits a glass in front of me, and pats my shoulder as though I was a measly child. “Breakfast should be done soon. By the way, this is completely random, but where’s your dog?”

I take a sip before answering, “Pumpkin? She’s down in the basement. She was keeping me company while I was working.”

“Oh, would you like me to get--”

“No, no, I will grab her.” I stumbled up onto my feet. Although faster than I intended and I nearly fell into Lapis.

“Peridot, you can barely even stand. I promise I won’t peek at your project. The last thing I want to do just about now is snooping.”

I stare at her, trying to read something off I can take for granted. I sigh. “Fine,” I said. “To be fair, she’s right in front of the steps. Probably sleeping away considering I kept her up all night.”

She smiles, and leaves.

I nibble on my lip, tapping my fingers against the table. Perhaps I should have went down there with her anyways. Although, oddly enough, I couldn’t bring myself to not trust Lapis. There was an odd sense of something about her that was simply pleasant. Familiar in a way that metal felt in my hands was.  _ Home _ . That’s what that was. Feeling at home with a person.

“Here she is!”

Pumpkin jumped at my legs, pawing at my knees. I scratched her head, thankful. “Hey there. Sorry I left you down there. You must have been so lonely.”

The sight of the corgi was one thing I couldn’t get used to sometimes. Her ear near completely gone, tatters left behind. Her back legs made into thin, steel limbs. It was the only thing we could really do for her.

“What happened to her anyhow?” Lapis asks as I expected, bending down to pet her. “I’ve wanted to ask, but I thought it would be rude on my first day here.”

“I actually don’t know to be honest with you. My sister and I just found her out in an alleyway, both back legs gone, and her ear near gone as well.”

Lapis’ eyebrows furrowed. She worried away at Pumpkin’s fur as though knitting yarn. “That’s awful,” she muttered. “Obviously I mean.”

“Yeah, she was definitely mistreated by a past owner. There was a collar found on her, and the way she was amputated was too clean for it to be chalked up as a sudden act of mutilation,” I said, and then drunk the rest of my water. “Squaridot said that we were meant to find her.”

“Why’s that?”

“She had some theory that it was extremely convenient for us to find her as we were heading home because Pumpkin was in the obscure shortcut that we used to take all the time. I see her thinking, but I also can’t help to believe she’s  _ over _ thinking it.”

We ate as we chat, passing about terrible experiences in the wasteland, finding the best laughs in near deaths, and the animals that came out the worst shortcomings. Discussing the insanity of snow coming again as well, but the stories of storms with hail as powerful to kill a two-headed ox brought hope and fear trailing behind it into our walls. Snow would be an interesting twist for a constant world of choking on hot sand, and walking pass dead trees, twisted into catacombs.

Lapis told me of her long journey through the land before I found her. Mutations trying to kill her, and showing off to me the a scar that snaked up to her knee from her ankle.

“It came out of nowhere!” she went on, voice rising a pitch. “The fucker had me pinned, but I was able to drive my knife into its eye to get it to back off. Not before it sunk its teeth into my forearm of course.” She pushed up her sleeve, and there was the baring of deep teeth marks in her flesh. “You should have seen it, Peridot. The thing looked like a leopard, but had the legs of a spider, and I think it had a snake as a tail! It was crazy. I’m surprised I’m still standing here.”

I hummed. “That is certainly interesting. My sister has had a similar experience actually. Something about running into a snake with legs and ears.”

She laughed, her shoulders shaking. “I have to say that’s fucking hilarious. I can’t imagine fighting that without dying first of laughter.”

I nod in agreement, sharing a laugh with her. “Plus, there is by far worst things out there that can kill you as everyone knows.”

She trails the pattern in the wood, and her grin turns into a thin lipped smile. “Like the tribes along the canal?”

“Yup.” I sigh. “Just like the tribes out near the canal.”


	5. The Streets in Which They Walked-Lapis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to get out.

“I’m only saying what Pearl already knows,” Peridot zips her bag up, nearly flinging the zipper off in the process, “Garnet and Amethyst are just fine on their own. That’s why they were sent out in the first place without an escort. Why do we need to swing back to check on them?”

“It’s just the next town over, Peridot.” I grapple with a small box, laced with a decorative pattern on its wood, trying to stuff it into my own bag. “And if they’ve really been gone for an entire week then it’s only fair that someone checks on them.”

I hear her clacking about behind me. I watch practically every strand of fur on her stand up. “You sound exactly like Pearl. One of her is already too much. You two need to stop hanging around together I swear.”

I jab my hand into her side, and she smacks my arm. “Quit being a child,” I grunt. “I promise I’ll hang around with you more once we get the other two back.”

She heaves her bag onto her shoulders after situating a bulky belt under her shirt, a gas mask hanging loosely off of it like a peering face. “I never said I wanted you to hang around with me. You living in my house is enough as it is.”

I outright laugh. I only half believe her. She spouts whatever comes to mind first, whether intended to be searing hot or not. She still remembered me kindly. “Right, of course.” I point out the window, rolling layers of clouds could be seen sweeping in from the North like rumored storms suggested,  “no more wasting up time, we ain’t got all the time in the world.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

We make sure to give Pumpkin a farewell hug, filling her bowl with an overfill of food as though someone wasn’t coming over to watch her. Pearl said she was willing to watch over the Corgi as Peridot’s sister was stated to be too busy. Even when at home for the canine.

“You said no more wasting time,” Peridot says. “Yet you’re the reason we’re still here.”

“I can’t help it,” I patted Pumpkin on the head once more, making sure to restrict myself to that as the last one, “I’m going to miss her.”

“We’ll be gone for a couple hours at most. The worst that happens is we’re gone for an entire day.”

“I know, I know.” 

At least Peridot was certain to be the one to remember me kindly.

 

We rode after a lecture from the bird lady herself, and her rummaging through our bags to check everything off on those constant mental lists of hers. “Just pick them up, and then return back. Don’t dilly dally,” she says after everything was then checked off, and she sent us on our way. 

Even so it hadn’t been fast enough as the sun was already ready to settle in somewhere far West. The moon stared out in a wispy shred of mist: large in a bathed hollow blue, the size of a town in the clouds. I shouldered my bag off once the wagon began rolling. The oxen pulled on the reins, snorting, doubled heads on each body shaking the sand off like a hound. Peridot kept a tight grip on the narrow straps.

A particular bounce sent me jostling and my armor cut into my side. Now armor was more than just common. Metal protection like this and gas masks were actually just as common as monsters or guns were. Everything we packed was retained to keep our flesh our flesh and not in some mutant’s dinner bowl. And I wasn’t even particularly one for whining. I knew the essentials to survival and what it took, but I can’t be blamed for finding the damned protective covering uncomfortable. It felt like being stuffed into a personal crafted oven before being sent to roast. I only hoped I prove tasty as I wasn't exactly meaty anywhere.

At least Peridot could made it work for her. She sat tall with stern shoulders. Sweat mopped her brow, but she didn’t bother wiping it away as though scared to release the reins.

Wind suddenly picked up, sending a mouthful of dust and sand into our face. We equally coughed.

Peridot nudges me as I’m rubbing my eyes. “Get the gas masks on. There’s a giant radioactive spill up ahead.”

That entire morning was nothing more than eating hot sand like it was our last meal on death row, steering the oxen away from tons of surges of radioactive areas where a couple giant scorpions strutted along, flicking their tails at us. I sat closer to Peridot and she didn’t take notice to my cowardly act for comfort. She pursed her lips, and for a moment, her face shifted into my mother’s: her cheeks becoming fuller, lips plump, and her eyes became small, crinkled with laugh lines around the edges. My mother had about as many freckles as she did wrinkles, and me being young, her face reminded me of permanent stars against a pale night sky.

I rubbed my eyes, sitting upright and away from Peridot. I hated how suddenly she made me uncomfortable. It wasn’t her fault though I reminded. So, I chewed on the inner side of my cheek before deciding to start up a conversation as to separate that woman from Peridot’s face. Hearing her voice was all I needed.  

“Okay, so, you’ve been to this town before, right?” I ask when I can slip the gas mask off, and no monsters lay in sight. “And it’s a nice place, right?”

“I’m sure you could say that,” she says. “But I haven’t really delved into the place myself, rather I was just passing by it. I didn’t have any reason to go in.”

“Does it have walls just like Crystal Sanctuary? Or is it more open spaced? I mean, they would have to have something, right?”

I sounded like a small child, but Peridot doesn't look to mind too much. “The last I remember it was working on getting the walls up. From where I was it looked to be about half way done, but that’s only what I could gather from the back of the wagon.” She puts a finger up when I go to speak. “We’ll see everything once we get there. I promise. We’ll surely have some time to explore a little bit.”

  
  


I saw the distanced great walls grow closer, a shadow in the itchy air of dust. It lumbered over us. We saw smoke pouring from the tops, a canopy of black that balled and contorted like an ugly ghost in the already graying sky.

“Something’s not right,” Peridot mutters, more to herself than me. “That’s not right at all.”

Even I could tell something was wrong. I didn’t say anything though. Instead, I stuffed myself against Peridot, whether for comfort from my mother or her I couldn’t decide, and I could see how her knuckles were white, muscles tensed up like she was wrapped in a slipknot. We could only push further though even when the oxen started growing iffy, and snorted, retraining against the reins. Finally, they came to full halt, and wouldn’t move further. Peridot tried to get them to budge, but neither moved.

“ _ Ó níl _ ,” Peridot muttered, low and almost inaudible. She slid off the wagon, and looked off towards the giant walls. She shakes her head. 

I followed after her. “What are we to do now?”

“What else is there to do? We have to check out what it is.”

There was obvious hesitation from her, and I stayed beside her. We didn’t want to go, but we had to. We both knew that. Peridot’s friends were in there, and we had to make sure they were okay. We stepped through the crumpled hollow arched entrance.

Houses--more so measured down cinders and wood now--charred to black and dark pieces that resembled fuming charchoal pieces in ash. Smoke curled out like giant dragons and swallowed the view of the sky above. My legs were stuck, I held my breath, and gaped at the broken sidewalks. This was described as a bustling town where neighbors knew one another like the back of their hands. They bonded over the end of the world because what reason did they have to turn against their own people? I imagined merchants selling their wares, and mothers holding hands with their children that clung onto the bottom hem of their dresses.

Peridot picked up a ragged doll that laid in a puddle of red, soaking its tattered flannel dress. I hear her choke back a whimper. There was a little girl that was involved in this mess. I had to piece that together--piece together that children were involved.  I couldn’t imagine the terror they must have felt--if there was even a chance for them to feel anything--and if so it must have felt just as suffocating as the fire. Nowhere to run and no one to save them.

I see limbs broken, twisted from the crushed roofs as though they were reaching for my help, crying for my hand to pull them back to their feet. Blood splattered across stones, a decorative pattern against the cracked cobble. What did they think upon seeing another world of theirs dying around them again?

Peridot leaned into me. Her eyes watered, and she hid her face into my arm. I still just stood there. I couldn’t even begin to say anything. To her or to myself. Maybe there was nothing to say. We were equally putting the pieces back together to see the terror and disbelief these people felt; taking a ripped apart picture from its cracked frame and trying to tape it back together.

She began weeping, her tears trailing down my arm.

 

Night came fast, and so we rode slow. It was hard to see ahead of us even with the lanterns combined. The oxen shook their heads with a snorting huff and the cart buckled as we headed over a rock, and we slid together. Peridot has been silent ever since we got back. She didn’t utter a word as we searched through piles of rubble after another. I had to drag her out much to her loud, grieving disdain. My cheek was still bleeding from where her claws caught me. Three distinct marks to remind me we hadn’t found Garnet or Amethyst. We only carried bad news and what we believed to be Amethyst’s horn. The entire horn, and it didn’t look like it was broken off. But forced off by hand, cut with something sharp. Blood and some torn flesh still clung to it. We tucked it inside a cloth, chucking it into a box. It scared us more than the corpses under the roofs did.

“What am I going to say?” Peridot’s voice caught me off guard, considering she barely sounded like she was even breathing. “What am I going to say to Pearl?”

I sigh. “You know you need to tell her everything. That’s the only thing you have.”

She yanks onto the reins, pulling the cart over to the side, rubbing her eyes like she was trying to scratch them out. “We need to stop. I’m actually worried we’re going to drive into a ditch if we go any further.”

“Won’t Pearl get worried--”

“She’s going to have to deal with it,” Peridot bites, tone clipped. She hops off to the ground, and starts watering and feeding the oxen. She then clamored into the back of the wagon where I had already started pulling out blankets and lit spare lanterns. I was now glad I had packed so much even when Peridot argued against it.

We lay them out like it was a picnic, and not the eery start of a horror movie where the thunderous start of violins and cellos would start. We relax--or tried--against the wood. The wind whistled low, and slipped in between the cracks wherever it could find like a gnarly rose thickets sticking into skin. It stings against our flesh even with the barrier of a thick, woolen blanket.

I feel Peridot shiver. “I can’t believe it’s gotten this cold already,” she curses.

I crawled up sluggishly, and ignored Peridot’s questioning as I move closer to the door. I don’t why I was doing it, but something drew me. And I was met then with wet flecks of snow upon opening, blurring my vision with white. Mother Nature held the wagon in a wintery fist. I scrambled back for Peridot, nearly scratching my knee.

“Snow!” I shout, yanking on her arm. “It’s snowing! Come on, you have to see!”

“I can already see it from here,” she hisses. “Please let me stay here in my blanket. It’s too cold for this.”

Ever since living in the wasteland, I was so sure I would never see snow again. Hell, even my memory of younge me playing in it winked every now and again, but got lost: it’s feelings of cold gone with it. Seeing it now, I couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t ever get myself to dream of it. Maybe I was dreaming now.

I scurried up against Peridot, nearly bouncing off the walls. “Peri,” I whisper. “Watch the snow with me.” It sounded better than saying, “ _ I need to make sure I’m not crazy and this is actually real, so please look with me because I’m just terrified of realizing I might be hallucinating _ .” That might make me a freak. I wasn’t trying to scare her off just yet.

She groans.

I yank and pull on her. Finally, she sits up, keeping her blanket tucked around her. “Fine, fine.  _ Níl ann ach sneachta cé. _ ” She gathers up against my shoulder as we sit against the back of the wagon, our breath fogging into the air like dragon’s breath. “I’m going to sleep after this,” Peridot says quietly. “I’m not watching this for too long.”

She never did stop watching though, her jaw slack, eyes drooping with calm. Neither of us moved away. It was as surreal as it was to feel normal again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies it's so short.


End file.
